Masdar to test new concepts in autonomous vehicles

ABU DHABI, January 16, 2018

Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company), Iconiq Motors, a China-based electric vehicle company, and its strategic partner Safe City Group have signed an agreement to test the latest autonomous driving concepts at Masdar City.

The futuristic Iconiq Seven built on an intelligent, connected vehicle platform integrated with Microsoft’s AZURE cloud technology, is set to hit the market in 2019.

Iconiq is also displaying its L5 autonomous driving concept at ADSW. As part of the collaboration, the L5 autonomous prototype will undergo extensive testing at Masdar City during 2018.

"Masdar City has put smart and sustainable mobility at the centre of its strategy, as highlighted by the historic success of its flagship driverless Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system," said Yousef Baselaib, executive director of Sustainable Real Estate at Madsar.

"Masdar City is the ideal location to test innovative autonomous driving concepts. We are excited to partner with Iconiq to support the advancement of autonomous mobility."

Bruno Lambert, chief executive officer of Iconiq Motors, said: "We are delighted to be a part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week this year and excited to be collaborating with Masdar City in the development of Iconiq’s L5 autonomous vehicle."

"We will fill the need in the automotive market for premium-positioned electric vehicles that deliver truly exceptional passenger experiences through state-of-the-art technology.

"Our plan is to deliver the first L5 vehicle fleet for the Dubai World Expo in October 2020, and we’re aiming to go into mass production at the end of 2023 when infrastructure and regulations are likely to be ready for fully autonomous vehicles,” he added.